Roland decides to travel to London
- & not just in order to progress the inquiry. It`s also a chance to escape his troubled marriage.
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Exploring a boy`s childhood in Barcelona during the Franco dictatorship, ” Under the Dust” is based on the autobiographical experience of prize-winning Catalan author Jordi Coca. In period & location
- an oppressive late 1940s & early 50s when the dictatorship`s repression was strongly felt at all levels of people`s everyday lives
- the novel echoes the recent bestseller ” The Shadow of the Wind”. But the affecting closeness of the boy`s first-person narrative & its pitiless realism set this book apart. The boy`s bewildered responses to his father`s violence & authoritarianism are played out at home & in a neighbourhood dominated by street gangs, where politics is never more than a block away. This novel was awarded the Sant Jordi prize in 2000. ”A tough implacable novel that makes no concessions...its ending has a rawness to chill the spirit of the hardiest reader.”
- Avui.


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A police inspector is investigating a strange murder, a case in which all the suspects are eager to claim responsibility for the act. Set in a former Portuguese fort which stored slaves & ivory, Under the Frangipani combines fable & allegory, dreams & myths with an earthy humour. The dead meet the living, language is invented, reality is constantly changing. In a story which is partly a thriller, partly an exploration of language itself, Mia Couto surprises & delights, & shows just why he is one of the most important African writers of today. ...

Tibor Fischer`s hilarious first novel follows the adventures of two young Hungarian basketball players through the turbulent years between the end of World War II & the revolution of 1956. In this spirited indictment of totalitarianism, the two improbable heroes, Pataki & Gyuri, travel the length & breadth of Hungary in an epic quest for food, lodging, & female companionship. ...

Under the Greenwood Tree is Hardy`s most bright, confident & optimistic novel. This delightful portrayal of a picturesque rural society, tinged with gentle humour & quiet irony, established Hardy as a writer. However, the novel is not merely a charming rural idyll. The double-plot, in which the love story of Dick Dewey & Fancy Day is inter-related with a tragic chapter in the history of Mellstock Choir, hints at the poignant disappearance of a long-lived & highly-valued traditional way of life. ...

Jingqiu, an innocent young woman from a politically questionable family in the city, is selected as one of a small group of students to be sent to the countryside to work on a project that will further the Cultural Revolution. Clever, curious & eager, she tries to fit in with her hosts & the rural way of life, & it isn`t appropriate for her to fall in love. But she does, with the son of a mighty army general. This beautiful, simple story of love against the odds will break your heart. ...

A couple on an epicurean journey across Mexico are excited by the idea of a particular ingredient, suggested by ancient rituals of human sacrifice. Precariously balanced on his throne, a king is able only to listen to the sounds around him
- sure that any deviation from their normal progression would mean the uprising of the conspirators that surround him. & three different men search desperately for the beguiling scents of lost women, from a Count visiting Madame Odile`s perfumery, to a London drummer stepping over spent, naked bodies.
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At the close of the First World War, propaganda mapping played a crucial role in the creation of a consensus about German national territory. Under the Map of Germany provides a detailed & vivid analysis of the history & techniques of nationalist mapping in inter-war Germany. Using extensive archival documentation
- including many previously undiscovered maps
- the author charts the development of new concepts of national territory & the establishment of an effective propaganda mapping network. His research demonstrates that a consensus about the extent of the Greater German nation was not created by skillful Nazi propagandists, but by the collaborate efforts of respected scholars & nationalist activists during the Weimar Republic. Challenging the belief that national self-determination is a just cause, Under the Map of Germany reveals that national territories are not tangible entities that can be clearly delimited, but are artificial constructs open to a wide range of interpretations.

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In the Baliem Valley in central New Guinea lived a Stone Age tribe which survived into the twentieth century
- the Kurelu. Matthiessen
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The scenery changes as we sail from busy port to icy Arctic, through stormy seas, on into an idyllic sunset. But it`s what lies under the ocean that will surprise & thrill you the most. From the creators of In the Forest comes a new book that combines awe-inspiring pop-ups with cutting-edge illustration & design in a celebration of the splendours of the ocean. Anouck Boisrobert is an illustrator & graphic designer, & Louis Rigaud works across multimedia as well as illustration. Their first book Popville won the Bank Street Best Children`s Book of the Year 2011. ...